You will need:

white, then dip the petals in caster sugar so that the whole petal is coated in sugar. Shake off any excess sugar, then sit the petals on the parchment paper and set them aside, away from any steam, to dry; it’ll take a couple of hours. Once the rose petals are dry, store them in an airtight box where they’ll keep for a couple of weeks.

SPICED CHICKEN WITH RED PEPPER AND ALMONDS Serves 6. You will need:

1 medium onion , roughly chopped 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, roughly chopped 2 cloves of garlic, peeled 1 red pepper, seeds removed, chopped 2 medium ripe tomatoes 75g (3 oz) blanched (peeled) almonds 1 teaspoon deseeded, finely chopped red chilli ½ teaspoon ground cardamom A good pinch of salt 1 teaspoon sugar 2-3 tablespoons sunflower oil 600g (1lb 5oz) boneless chicken thighs or chicken breasts 1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander Rice, to serve First make the paste. Put the roughly chopped onion, the roughly chopped fresh ginger, the garlic, the chopped red pepper, the tomatoes, the blanched almonds, the finely chopped red chilli, the ground cardamom, the salt and the sugar in a food processor. Whizz everything together for a couple of minutes to make a rough paste. The paste can be kept in the fridge for two days.

To cook, put a large frying pan on a medium heat, add the sunflower oil and, when it is hot, add the paste, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 6-8 minutes until the paste has slightly thickened.

Add the chicken thighs or the chicken breasts, whichever you are using, and the lemon juice. Cover the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for a further 1012 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the chopped coriander, taste for seasoning, adding more lemon juice, salt and freshly ground black pepper if necessary. Serve hot, with rice.

QUINOA AND POMEGRANATE SALAD WITH ALMONDS Serves 6.

250g (10oz) quinoa 600ml (1pt) vegetable stock or chicken stock ½ teaspoon cumin seeds 1 teaspoon ground turmeric ½ teaspoon sugar 50g (2oz) sultanas 50g (2oz) almonds, with the skins on, if possible, coarsely chopped 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 cloves of garlic, crushed Finely grated zest and juice of ½ lemon 1 small handful of fresh mint leaves, shredded Sea salt and freshly ground pepper The seeds from 1 pomegranate Put the quinoa and the vegetable stock or the chicken stock, whichever you are using, in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes uncovered, or until the liquid has evaporated and the quinoa is cooked. It should be just tender with little white ‘tails’. Stir in the cumin seeds, the turmeric and the sugar. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the sultanas. Cover the saucepan and allow the quinoa to sit for 10 minutes.

While the quinoa is sitting, put the coarsely chopped almonds in a pan over a medium heat. Toss them regularly and cook them until they are golden brown. Take the saucepan off the heat and set it aside.

To make the dressing, mix together the extra-virgin olive oil, the crushed garlic, the lemon zest and the lemon juice, and most of the shredded fresh mint. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir the dressing into the quinoa mixture.

Turn the dressed quinoa into a serving bowl. Stir in the pomegranate seeds and sprinkle the toasted chopped almonds and the remaining shredded fresh mint over the top.